The crew of an experimental underwater nuclear base are forced to struggle for their lives when their explorations disturb a creature who threatens to destroy their base. At the bottom of the ocean, the DeepStar Six has just discovered a new and deadly alien menace. What happens every time a highly anticipated movie is about to be released? The cuckoo effect! A rival studio rushing into production a similarly themed lesser film to cash in on the free publicity of the other film. It's been going on for decades and isn't going to stop.<br/><br/>In 1989 we got TWO cuckoo films trying to cash in on the release of James Cameron's much anticipated 'The Abyss.' One was 'Leviathan' and the other was 'Deep Star Six.' <br/><br/>While it would be impossible for either of the two to even be in the same league as 'The Abyss,' 'Leviathan' was an enjoyable cuckoo film. It had a fantastic A list cast, a scary build up, and quality FX. 'Deep Star Six' had… Miguel Ferrer.<br/><br/>That's the major problem with 'Deep Star Six,' it's doesn't fail because it never even tries on any level. For example, 'Leviathan's limited budget required them to film dry for wet for its underwater shots, which it did surprisingly well. 'Deep Star Six' ONLY HAS ONE 30 SECOND UNDER WATER SHOT! That's right, an under water sci-fi action film which only has one under water scene! <br/><br/>The plot, a deep ocean under water base… well, they never really explain WTF there is a giant under water base. They only mention something about it being a nuclear missile site for the Navy or something.<br/><br/>Unlike 'Leviathan' the characters are extremely forgettable and the cast is totally devoid of any namable stars, save Miguel Ferrer whom is terribly miscast in his role. The only other three actors I recognized were Greg Evigan ('My Two Dads' 'PSI Love You' 'Tek War') Matt McCoy (husband in 'Hand That Rocks The Cradle') and Elya Baskin (token Russian guy in EVERY MOVIE).<br/><br/>I looked up the filmographies of the other actors just in case I missed anyone. Nope. They've barley done any other work.<br/><br/>Their mini subs are attacked by a sea monster or so we're told. Remember, there's only one under water shot in the beginning so we never actually see the monster under water or the destruction its blamed for.<br/><br/>The monster eventually gets inside the base and this is another example of 'Deep Star Six' not even trying as Matt McCoy being cut in half is NEVER SHOWN! In one shot he's alive, in the next he's cut in half. Maybe the monster is innocent? So far we haven't seen it cause any of the deaths. In fact, we haven't even seen the deaths! <br/><br/>When we finally see the monster it's bigger than an elephant which begs the question, how the hell did it get inside and how does it later fit through airlocks the size of manhole covers?<br/><br/>The surviving crew members do the only sensible thing and close the airlock, thus trapping the monster inside the base! While the airlock was leaking water they'd already decided to abandon the base anyway so what would one flooded room matter? <br/><br/>Anyway, five crew members escape the room alive. Alright, so letter lock the door and NEVER go in that room ever again! At this point the film reminds us that they will decompress and evacuate the base in four hours. Good! Just leave the monster alone for four hours and they'll never have to see it ever again!!! <br/><br/>Of course they go back into the room!!! What's the worst that could happen? Thus the monster causes more death and destruction. Maybe it just wants out? Open the airlock and let it out!<br/><br/>As I said, there's nothing to hate about 'Deep Star Six' except how little it tries. It was a cuckoo project to begin with that really comes in a distant third behind 'The Abyss' and 'Leviathan.' This movie definitely ranks among the better B movies I've seen over the last couple of months as part of my current infatuation with 80s trashy science fiction movies. It does have some weaknesses, as all B movies do, so I'll try to defend it for what it is, without raising it to a higher standard than it deserves.<br/><br/>The plot, as has been mentioned in other reviews, resembles the plot of "Alien", and adds little to the basic premise, except that the action takes place in the deep sea, instead of deep space. In some ways it's an utterly generic rip-off. Even the characters will remind you of their counterparts in Ridley Scott's classic movie.<br/><br/>So this movie is definitely never going to score very high, and given that the creature effects are somewhat disappointing, it definitely will not please everybody. But I found the acting to be of a very decent standard, with Miguel Ferrer being the absolute star. He plays the pitiable technician Snyder who slowly evolves from a slightly geeky bullied crew member, into a psychotic liability. Matt McCoy also gives a memorable performance as the wisecracking but very likable Richardson, and most of the other actors gave good performances as well. Nothing worthy of an award here, but good enough to keep me entertained throughout the movie.<br/><br/>Apart from the creature, the effects were also quite decent. Again, nothing jawdroppingly good, but at least they made a good effort, and that shows. It's still better than those god awful CGI effects that were to replace these types of special effects only a couple of years after this movie was made. Mind you, I've got nothing against CGI as it is now, but when CGI first made its way into mainstream cinema those effects were so bad they ruined entire movies. Deepstar Six definitely didn't use the best effects available at its time, but it manages quite well with the effects available for its budget.<br/><br/>Just because the story is not particularly original, that doesn't mean it's bad. It's actually quite well written. There's a couple of holes, but nothing too obvious or annoying. It obviously took many of its ideas from "Alien", but who can really blame the writers for that? "Alien" is an all-time classic. If you are going to take your inspiration from somewhere, at least take it from somewhere good. And there's enough new stuff here to stop it from being just a copy.<br/><br/>Putting it all together, I enjoyed this movie a lot. I'm definitely going to watch it again, and I'll recommend it to anyone who likes science fiction, but isn't too religious about it. Liking this movie requires a forgiving attitude to technical and scientific goofs, of which there are many. If you are willing to suspend your disbelief at these details, I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Dagnizydo replied
344 weeks ago